North Coast commuters rejoice, toll fees at the oThongati and Mvoti tolls are temporarily suspended. 

South African transport minister, Fikile Mbalula, announced the news earlier today with fees reportedly suspended as of 6pm on April 22.

When the Courier visited the oThongati toll at 7pm however, fees were still being charged and there was a 30 minute wait.

It has not yet been confirmed whether fees continue to be charged.

Multiple reports also suggest that truck drivers blocked the ‘shesha’ tag lane and left their vehicles in protest of continued charges.

The suspension of fees follows over a week of lobbying which began with the KwaZulu-Natal Democratic Alliance (DA) and was picked up locally by the KwaDukuza Residents Forum (KDRF).

This included a KDRF petition which asked for the fees to be waived and had reached 3 500 signatures by April 22.

Mounting pressure from these groups was finally rewarded following the support of KZN premier, Sihle Zikalala, who submitted a formal request for the suspension on April 21.

“The public transport industry operating in these areas service the travel needs of a large number of residents from numerous communities, particularly in areas along the R102 on route to industries.

“The industry is under pressure to bear the excessive costs of toll fees in addition to facing longer trips. These costs are bound to be passed onto commuters through higher taxi fares,” said Zikalala.

This ostensibly spurred the national government who announced the suspension the next day after conferring with the board of the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), which administers tolls countrywide.

“We have listened to the pleas of affected communities and the provincial government and responded in line with our posture as a caring government,” said minister Mbalula in a statement.

No time frame has been given on the  length of the suspension, but it has been called an interim measure.

“The repair of the alternative roads (R102 and M4), while these interim measures are in place, will be prioritised and accelerated so as to make it possible to for the affected communities to be able to use them again as soon as possible,” he said.

Although not the only cause of major traffic issues between Umhlanga and KwaDukuza recently, the waiving of toll fees will no doubt alleviate the added pressure on the N2.

The KDRF welcomed the decision.

“The KDRF is grateful for the efforts of all stakeholders who played a role in convincing the Department of Transport and SANRAL that charging toll fees at the Tongaat and Mvoti tolls and the ensuing traffic chaos, is inappropriate while dealing with a natural disaster in the area.”

“We look forward to the speedy repair of the alternate routes and a return to normality for the people of the North Coast and greater KZN,” said chairman, Warwick Chapman.